Occupation Costume designer Name Albert Wolsky | Role Costume designer | |
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Nominations Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Play Similar People James Mitchell, Dennis Gassner, Kristi Zea, Tony Walton, Nancy Haigh | ||
Costume Designer Albert Wolsky
Albert Wolsky (born November 24, 1930) is an American costume designer. He has worked both on stage shows as well as for film, and has received two Academy Awards.
Contents
- Costume Designer Albert Wolsky
- Albert Wolsky on Costume Design Chagall Fantasies for the Stage
- Life and career
- Personal life
- Honors and awards
- References
Albert Wolsky on Costume Design // Chagall: Fantasies for the Stage
Life and career
Wolsky was born in Paris, France, but during World War II, he and the rest of his family fled to the United States to escape the German occupation. After graduating from the City College of New York, he served in the army from 1953–56, spending most of his enlistment in Japan. Once he returned to the United States, he began working in his father's travel agency. However, he decided to change careers and took an assistant's job with notable costume maker Helene Pons. Wolsky became a well regarded costume designer, working both on Broadway and in the motion picture industry.
The first film Wolsky worked on was The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. He worked on many films including Harry and Tonto, The Turning Point, Grease and Manhattan. He worked with Bob Fosse, a leading Broadway director, on All That Jazz and won his first Academy Award. He won his second Academy Award for Bugsy in 1991 and has been nominated five other times, most recently for his work on Julie Taymor's Beatles-inspired musical Across the Universe (2007) and Sam Mendes's Revolutionary Road (2008).
He began his career as costume designer for the theatre by assisting costume designer Ann Roth on A Case of Libel (1963); he later assisted Roth on The Odd Couple (1965), Patricia Zipprodt on Fiddler on the Roof (1964), and Theoni Aldredge on Illya Darling (1967). His first work as lead costumer was Generation (1965). He went on to serve as principal costume designer for both plays and musicals, including The Sunshine Boys (1972) and Sly Fox (1976). Wolsky has been announced as the designer for the 2012 Broadway production of The Heiress.
Wolsky is currently a Member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
He is the recipient of the 2010 TDF/Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award For Costume Design.
In 2010, Wolsky donated his costume design sketches to the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Personal life
His longtime partner was actor James Mitchell.